Spotlight: China reports remarkable progress on nuclear security, pledges to do more

China has actively carried out national measures and engaged in international cooperation to promote nuclear security and has made significant headway in the realm, the Asian country said in a report released Thursday.

In the "National Progress Report on Nuclear Security," which has been submitted to the upcoming fourth and last Nuclear Security Summit (NSS), Beijing also pledged continued efforts to help strengthen the global architecture and prevent radioactive material from falling into the wrong hands.

ALL-ROUND PROGRESS

Recognizing that "it is the fundamental responsibility of each country to maintain security of its nuclear material and facilities," China is dedicated to improving its national nuclear security system, stressed the report.

China, it noted, has been optimizing the top-level design of its nuclear security structure, upgrading relevant regulations and standards, boosting capacity-building and cultivating a nuclear security culture.

In particular, with its national security law and counter-terrorism law, which were both passed last year, China has made it clear in legal terms that nuclear security is a vital aspect of national security and the battle against terrorism. In addition, the legislation process of an atomic energy law and a nuclear safety law is already under way.

Meanwhile, Beijing reiterated its commitment to building "an international nuclear security system featuring fairness and win-win cooperation" that provides "a strong and sustainable institutional guarantee to make sure that nuclear energy benefits human beings in a safe and secure way."

China has ratified the "Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material" and its amendment as well as the "International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism" -- two important pillars in the global nuclear security architecture -- and has fulfilled its international obligations in line with these and other relevant accords and UN resolutions.

In parallel, China supports the "central role" of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in international cooperation on nuclear security and has provided it with all-around support, including political, technical and financial input, the report said.

Beijing has donated 1.15 million U.S. dollars to the IAEA Nuclear Security Fund as of 2015, with a view to promoting capacity-building both in China and in other Asian countries.

As an example of its active international engagement, China has worked closely with the United States to build the Center of Excellence on Nuclear Security (COE) of China in suburban Beijing. As the largest, best equipped and most advanced facility of its kind in the Asia-Pacific region, the COE will serve as a venue for a variety of international exchanges and cooperation programs.

In the nine-pronged report, China also summarized the achievements it has scored in enhancing the security of highly enriched uranium, strengthening the management of radioactive sources, combating illicit trafficking of nuclear material, boosting nuclear emergency response capability, improving nuclear-related cyber security and establishing a radiation environment monitoring system.

A LEADING ROLE

The report came as leaders and envoys from 52 countries and four international organizations are gathering in Washington for the 2016 NSS. In the wake of the deadly terrorist attacks in Brussels and amid reports that the suicide bombers involved were originally considering an attack on a nuclear site in Belgium, nuclear security has taken on an extra layer of urgency.

In a sign of its firm commitment to nuclear security, China has participated in all the previous three summits at the top level. Chinese President Xi Jinping attended the third NSS in The Hague in 2014, and his predecessor, Hu Jintao, attended the first in Washington in 2010 and the second in Seoul in 2012.

As the upcoming fourth NSS will be the last in its current format, Xi is expected to put forth a set of practical proposals on continuously firming up global nuclear security in the post-NSS era.

After the summit process concludes, said the report, China will continue to actively take part in the international nuclear security process, help strengthen the international system, and make fresh contributions to achieving common nuclear security for all.

Commenting on China' s nuclear security efforts, Khammar Mrabit, director of the IAEA's Nuclear Security Office, said in a recent interview with Xinhua that China has taken effective steps in improving nuclear security both at home and abroad and is thus contributing to the common good of the world.

At a briefing on Tuesday, Laura Holgate, a special assistant to U.S. President Barack Obama and a senior director at the U.S. National Security Council, spoke highly of the Beijing COE project and China's leadership in the nuclear security area.

"We're really quite encouraged by the leadership that China is beginning to show in the nuclear security realm, not only in managing its own material but in creating a platform for cooperation regionally and internationally through the Center of Excellence that it's been carrying out," she said.

For Ali Abdul Nabi, a former vice president of the Egyptian Nuclear Power Plants Authority, China has played a significant role in international cooperation on nuclear security and the peaceful use of nuclear energy.

China' s role, he commented in an interview with Xinhua, stems from its responsibility as a major country to protect the peoples of the world from nuclear threats. Endi